Mobile data usage is still growing in all of the 39 countries covered by this analysis. But there are two countries that stand out – China and India. In the first half of 2018, these two 'developing' nations have overtaken several mature markets when it comes to average data consumption per subscription.
But China and India aren't yet challenging the top – where the two unlimited superpowers, Finland and Taiwan, still reign.
Data-only remain a key driver for overall usage and new figures from Austria and Finland add insight to the extreme usage pattern of fixed wireless access. Since the baby steps on 5G are taken in that FWA segment, it's an interesting pointer to the future.
But, more importantly, we show the usage vs. ARPU chart.
Tefficient's 19th public analysis of the development and drivers of mobile data shows that mobile data usage is still growing in all of the 36 countries covered by this analysis. Unlimited moves the needle. Finland tops the charts – but it's India that leads the growth league.
Data-only is a very important driver of usage. Austria is now the clear world leader in fixed-line substitution. In Korea, the share of data traffic on 4G has now effectively reached 100% with a 4G penetration of 80%. The country is ready for 5G.
In this analysis we identify the ten countries where the more-for-more initiatives of operators buck the general more-for-less trend.
Our 18th public analysis on the development and drivers of mobile data ranks 124 operators based on average data usage per SIM, total data traffic and revenue per gigabyte.
The data usage per SIM grew for all operators. But what happens to ARPU? In an upfront way, our new Christmas tree graph visualises the operators that are delivering on more-for-more – and those that are just following the more-for-less stream.
Data-only is a clear driver of usage. Austria emerges as the fixed-line substitution leader.
A prerequisite for continued data usage growth is that the total revenue per gigabyte is low. This is not the case in Greece, Canada, Belgium, Germany and Czechia. The total revenue per gigabyte here is roughly 20 times higher than in Finland. Of these countries, Canada stands out with its combination of low data usage and high ARPU.
This is an add-on to our just-published analysis "More for more" isn't happening which compares 33 countries.
If you think gigabytes are becoming a commodity, you are just partly right. End-users love what they can do with data – but even if they are willing to pay for it there are limits to their loyalty.
The mobile data usage continued to grow in 2016, but the spread in growth rates has never been greater between markets.
Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and, surprisingly, USA grew the slowest whereas Poland, Lithuania, Romania, Austria and France grew the fastest.
See the top 33 of the world in our 15th analysis of data usage and revenue. See what data-only and 4G LTE means for usage.
And see who has the highest – and lowest – revenue per gigabyte and per SIM.
The mobile data usage continued to grow in 2016, but the growth rates varied much. Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong and Hungary grew the slowest whereas Lithuania, Turkey, Austria and Korea grew the fastest.
In Lithuania, Austria and Korea, premium unlimited plans were introduced and the effect on data usage has been similar to what our previous analyses identified for Finland and Latvia.
The data usage top list is dominated by operators that offer unlimited: The world leader had an average usage per SIM of 9.9 GB per month.
In this analysis – our fifth on the subject – we show how telcos, cellcos and cablecos in mature markets in Europe, America and APAC use public Wi-Fi to attract and retain customers – and to upsell.
We also update you on Wi-Fi usage and deployment. You might be surprised to see that the wide adoption of 4G LTE and an increasing use of mobile data meant more Wi-Fi, not less.
Which country had the highest mobile data usage in 2015? The fastest usage growth? The lowest and highest revenue per Megabyte? How does it affect usage? How are data-only and 4G LTE adoption rates affecting usage?
Which operator leads the world?
Find the answers to these mobile data usage and monetisation questions in tefficient's 13th public analysis on the topic.
Why should an operator complement their customers' experience of mobile data with Wi-Fi?
This analysis – covering 22 mobile operators in 7 markets (Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Taiwan, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden) – makes an attempt to once and for all conclude if Wi-Fi is the last piece of the customer retention puzzle.
Which operator is in the top when it comes to mobile data usage?
Which country charges the most for mobile data?
Find the answers to these and other important mobile data usage and monetisation questions in tefficient's 12th public analysis on the topic.
Mobile data usage continues to grow: +58% for the markets in this analysis.
In some high usage markets like the US and Singapore, we however see signs of saturation with growth of just about 20%. But it's not a general trend: In other high usage markets – Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Japan and Ireland – the mobile data usage grew 60 to 80%.
In the two low usage countries Germany and the Netherlands a Mbyte effectively costs 11-14 times more than in the European countries with the lowest effective Mbyte price.
Consequently, we examine the success of the operators who – in order to reduce SAC/SRC and improve margin – are challenging the mature market norm with binding contracts with coupled, subsidised, equipment.
For the first time – in our 10th public analysis on the development of mobile data usage –we see clear signs of saturation.
Unlimited squeeze-out. Smartphone penetration levelling out. 4G is mainstream. Public Wi-Fi disrupts.
Wi-Fi has become a tool in the operator toolbox. In this analysis – our third on the subject – we show how telcos, cellcos and cablecos use Wi-Fi to strengthen existing business.
Time is right for operators to include Wi-Fi into a combined connectivity experience for customers – a carrier-grade experience.
Early upgrade plans: Sweet now. Turns sour?
Is a recurring upgrade promise – often without any fee – a good idea? Take-up has been great, but it's only now the pioneering operators need to start delivering on this promise.
For the first time, we have combined regulator reported data with operator reported data from around the world allowing comparisons between markets as well as in markets. We also present a new number 1 on the country top list.
What happened to the MVNO businesses when Orange, SFR and Bouygues launched their sub-brands Sosh, Red and B&YOU in preparation for the announced launch of Free mobile.
This is our fourth analysis on subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) and subscriber retention cost (SRC). It shows that much has happened in 2013: Average unit SAC and SRC have decreased significantly. How come – and what has it led to?